JBL S120PII Subwoofers

JBL S120PII Subwoofers 

DESCRIPTION

12-Inch, 400-watt, Front-Firing Powered Subwoofer

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 13  
[Oct 30, 2008]
johnrich
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sound Quality built a JBL tradition of quality

Weakness:

None

Excellent subwoofer. I have two of them one in my home theater and one in a master bedroom. They both demonstrate clean bass that is not boomy or synthetic. Have heard others that come over boomy. Quality built. In the bedroom I have added the JBL speakers in the wall and it is a pleasure to lay back and listen to the JBL sound that radiates with clarity and clean sound. The octives in the bass are reproduced very clearly.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 27, 2006]
jonnyd
Casual Listener

Strength:

Will not distort at high movie volumes
Price
quality
Being able to say mine is 12"
look,style

Weakness:

when not in use & in standby mode i can hear a very low hum, if the house is totaly quite, there might be a way to resolve this. Any suggestions?

My wife and I are movie buffs. We have a very large room, which opens into the kitchen, and this powered sub does more than what i ever expected. I have friends who own other PWD Subs that where almost twice what i paid and i'm glad i didn't listen to them. i have been unable to get this 12 JBL to distort. I have never maxed it out. So you might want to read other reviewers. I also don't crank music to loud, but for the volume i use (with music) it is more than enough. Now movies we crank up the volume. At times i feel as if i'm sitting in an IMAX. In my opinion you are getting outstanding product for the price.

Similar Products Used:

I'm using Bose Speakers, so i had to change settings on yamaha receiver b/c bose requires all speakers to be set on large. i set the two front speakers to small and left the center as large. Everything is sounding great.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 18, 2005]
irfanh
Casual Listener

Strength:

Still looking for it.

Weakness:

Weak sub.

I purchased the JBL S120PII after looking at all the rave review and was quite dissappointed in the end. I have a very old 100 watt Kenwood sub (9 year old). I have replaced the speaker with a new Polk and it works great. Since I am setting up a new HT with projection screen I thought I'd need something with more punch (primarily for movies) so I bought this JBL. I used the same position, volume and frequency levels and I can tell you that there is NO punch at all in the JBL. The kenwood sounds just so much more mighty and adds to the impact of watching movies. The marching scence and the fall of Soron in LOTR-PI in the opening of the movie produces amazing bass effects with the kenwood, but with the JBL I could barely feel it. OK, I may not be an audiophile but I can hear what I can. And, I think the cheap/old kenwood just blows away the huge/heavy JBL when it comes to reproducing deep rattling bass. Am I doing something wrong???

Similar Products Used:

kenwood

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
1
[Mar 18, 2004]
datarush
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Plenty of LFE for movies and a great assist for music lows. Crossover can be bypassed and auto on/off switch.

Weakness:

The metal plate on the top of the subwoofer has no apparent use besides making my plant sit on it crooked.

This was the last purchase for my current home theater speaker setup which will remain as is for a while. On the strength of a multi-sub review in Home Theater I decided to look into this sub. Big and heavy, prepare yourself for a wrestling match manuevering it around! It has a lot more at the lower end than my previous subs (they had 10" drivers, though) and I can really feel this one pump it out at times. I could crank the volume higher than I keep it but after all I'm not trying to impress my neighbors. It works well with my Polk speakers, but you're not gonna have image variations from the speakers to sub anyway. This will give any system good LFE. I'm very pleased with this behemoth.

Similar Products Used:

JBL PB10, Infinity IL100S

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 18, 2003]
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

150Hz crossover 5 way binding posts 12" woofer 400 watts rms auto turn on power switch hits low and deep

Weakness:

12" woofer, some rock cd can sound a little muddy while blasting. makes my 6 dics cd changer skip when the bass gets going

this sub is awesome. found it at best buy in boston on clearance in the tv section. bought a 4 year bestbuy warrenty with it, so no worrys about playing it too loud. have it hooked up to my onxyo tx-8511 though speaker wire. works fine. there is a hum when nothing is playing but it turns off after a few minutes, and by the time i'm done listening i can't really hear the hum anyways. the 150hz crossover helps my polk rt-35i's with frequencys they can't handle. the sound quality i get with my setup is amazing. it can do just about anything. has more than enough power to make the door frames down the hall rattle at college.

Similar Products Used:

DBx 15" unpowered subwoofer: no where close the output of the jbl.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 09, 2003]
Jesse
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Monster bass, very clean, never distorts. Hits it low enough for my musical/ht tastes

Weakness:

Do have to turn the amp to 75 percent to get the full experience

I had been looking at this sub for over a year, but being conscious of my college budget I could not rationalize the 700 dollar retail price at best buy. Finally! This thing goes on clearance and I pick it up. I would have paid the retail to have this unit in my house if I could have afforded it at the time. Hands down. The base is clear, to the point of actually being able to distinguish bass guitar from deep pounding drums. Which with most subs it comes out as muddy noise resembling low frequency reproduction. This sub is a monster, those of you who own it, try jurassic park, it is a rewarding experience. The t-rex indeed sounds like the 40 ton king of the jungle when he approaches! As for music I do have to agree, with more complicated pieces the sub loses some of its definition, but it remains a clean signal. I have been unsuccesful in my attempts to make it distort. From the jazz, blues and classic rock I listen to the most to the less frequent r+b and rap this thing is unbelievable. For another 333 I think I will add another to the right side of my entertainment center so I have one on each side!!!! Go get yours today, you will not be disappointed!

Similar Products Used:

JBL Control Monitors (4311A) DPA SLT 2.8 Klipsch SC.5

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 08, 2003]
eno45
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clean Bass Loud Bass Tight Bass Powerful Sub that hasn't bottomed out yet. Great for movies(A+) Great for music (A-) Box construction well made which produces no vibration noise at normal loud listening volumes. Price 600$ and down, well worth it.

Weakness:

Wish cabinet was all black without the JBL plate and lights on the top. Wish they made it in a 10" model for music fans.

Looked into adding some tighter bass for music over my 15" Definitive Technology PF15TL+. Sounds clean, music and movies, haven't been able to get the speaker to distort , bottom out or pop. I took the speaker out and its freakn huge. It looks like a monster car sub. Much better sound over my 15". Turns out its so much cleaner and smoother that I just sold my DT15 on ebay for 500$ and bought another for 333$. Even for 500-600$ its well worth it. Clean,tight,loud bass, low port noise and hardly any cabinet rattle. I noticed while I had the spikes in that the cabinet would rattle big time when I had it cranked running HZ below 80. Took the spikes out and noise just about stopped. Only can hear the cabinet vibration at max volumes from sub. Well worth it for anyone looking for a sub that can handle loud volumes with clean bass that doesn't distort.

Similar Products Used:

Definitive Technology PF15TL+ AudioSource 15" Klipsch ProMedia Sub

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 03, 2003]
Jon Damien
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Very powerful and great sounding bass.

Weakness:

Maybe the price

I love this sub. I bought it to add the seat shaking bass my home theater needed and it provided very well. It replaced my worn out PB12 (do not buy that sub, will break down) I am quite happy with my S120PII. I haven't had any problems and only have good things to say about it. My Home Theater System: Front Speakers: JBL S312II Center Speaker: JBL S-CENTERII Mid Surround Speakers: JBL S26II Back Surround Speakers: JBL S26II Subwoofer: JBL S120PII Receiver: Sony ES STR-DA4ES 7 Channel CD Changer: Sony ES CDP-M333ES 400 Disc DVD Changer: Sony DVP-CX875P 301 Disc VCR: Sony SLV N71 TV: Sony KP-51WS500 51" Widescreen Power Center: Monster Power HTS2600 All wired with Monster Cable audio and video cable.

Similar Products Used:

JBL PB12

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Oct 25, 2002]
matt01113
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

sound, clean bass

Weakness:

LED lights - IMHO they look trashy

I purchased the s120pII recently and i love it. It adds a new dimension to my home theater. At first I was a little upset about the output, but the sub has broken in well. The bass is very clean, and i have not noticed any distortion at any level. I have jbl studio series speakers all around and this sub complements them well. I would recommend it, but dont pay $699.

Similar Products Used:

JBL pb12, M&K V125

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 24, 2002]
diamatron
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great Sound, Looks Awsome, not real Pricey!

Weakness:

Crackling SOunds at power up, and it seems to need a good strong bass signal to come off standby!

I replaced a worn out PB12 with this unit. At first sight I loved it, and it sounded so awsome. Though no I am having a prblem with it crackling at low demands od base, most noticable during amp power warm up. I am so hoping Customer Support will work with me and get this resovled.

Similar Products Used:

PB12, PS15

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-10 of 13  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com